Inter Milan defender Stefan di Vrij has said that he is hoping to end the season on a high with the Nerazzurri by winning the rest of the league games. The Nerazzurri have experienced a mixed set of results in the backend of the season but they are nonetheless on course for a top four finish to the campaign.

Speaking to reporters, De Vrij indicated that he is excited about the club’s run-in after recovering from the recent injury concern. Furthermore, he spoke about the objective of winning the remaining seven games of the season such that the club can comfortably secure Champions League qualification for the second year running.

Due to a calamitous season in which Real Madrid have failed to compete for the La Liga title or the Champions League, Zinedine Zidane was reinstated as Los Blancos manager in March.

It is understood that the three-time Champions League winning manager returned to the Santiago Bernabeu with a number of special requests, including having a big say in which players are brought in during the summer transfer window. Reports suggest that one of the Frenchman’s primary targets is Napoli winger Lorenzo Insigne.

Roma midfielder SteveN’Zonzi has said that the team are prepared to tackle Lazio in the weekend’s league derby at the Stadio Olimpico. The Giallorossi earned a hard-fought 3-2 win over relegation-threatened Frosinone in their recent league encounter and this has kept them within the hunt for the Champions League places with one-point separating them from fourth-placed AC Milan.

Speaking to Roma TV, N’Zonzi acknowledged that the previous triumph at Frosinone was crucial, given they could have dropped in the pursuit of the top four. Meanwhile, speaking on the derby, the former Sevilla star said that the game should be a fascinating contest with the great atmosphere and his side are prepared to do the league double against their city rivals.

Roma manager Eusebio di Francesco is pleased with the club’s late win over strugglers Frosinone on the road. The Giallorossi faced a must-win situation to catch up with fourth-placed AC Milan but they managed to do so in the hard way with the EdinDzeko coming up with the winner in the 95th minute of the game.

Speaking after the clash, Di Francesco acknowledged that no games are easy during the backend of the season and the same was the case with Frosinone, who are vying to beat the drop. He added to state the importance of the victory which has propelled the club to within one point off the Rossoneri, who are holding the final Champions League qualification spot.

Poland international Krzysztof Piatek has expressed his pleasure after making the switch to AC Milan from Genoa last month. The 23-year-old was the standout performer for Genoa during the first half of the season after contributing more than half of their league goals and he has continued with the same vein of form for Milan with three goals in the past two starts.

Speaking to Foot Truck, Piatek said that he is pleased to have made a quick start to his Serie A career after initially joining Genoa earlier in the summer. He added that he must adapt to the difficulties in the future, though that won’t change his style of play upfront, he said: “I’ve scored goals in Serie A, this is the pressure I’ve chosen. I must adapt, but I certainly won’t change. I plan to always be the same person and work like before.

Already on their second manager of the current season, after Julio Velázquez was replaced by Davide Nicola in mid-November, little seems to have improved at struggling Udinese.

Two wins apiece are all either manager has been able to achieve, during their respective tenures and much to the frustration of long-suffering fans.

The Champions League Round of 16 will be starting in just a few weeks time, and Juventus have landed in one of the most compelling pairings.

Juve will take on Atlético Madrid, the notoriously stingy defensive side out of La Liga with a strong recent history in Champions League play. And while Juventus is still being widely perceived as a potential contender for the league title, it’s not a matchup the side seems particularly thrilled with in the early going.

Former Inter Milan star Diego Milito has said that Mauro Icardi cannot take his starting role with Argentina for granted, given they are many excellent strikers within the national team pool. The Nerazzurri captain has recently become a regular feature for the South Americans upfront with Sergio Aguero and Gonzalo Higuain out of the fray, though the duo could return before the Copa America during the summer.

Speaking to Tencent Sports, Milito said:“It was true that Icardi had just completed a great season, but there are many excellent strikers in Argentina and I have shared the same feelings [having not been selected for the 2010 World Cup. As I said before, we have many excellent players in attack, but I think I deserved more opportunities.”

It is surprising how the Italian football club Juventus has been able to rope in so many top-quality professional football players and has been charged nothing of it - it seems like art the club has mastered!

Very recently news came out that the Arsenal midfielder Aaron Ramsey will be joining Juventus in the summer and it will be a free transfer. When you also consider that, in 2012, the Italian Club was able to sign eminent players like Paul Pogba (who played for Manchester United) for nothing too, as well as players like Dani Alves and Fabio Cannavaro, you can see the pattern emerge.

Napoli president Aurelio de Laurentiis has confirmed that Manchester United had recently lodged a club-record £95m for defender Kalidou Koulibaly which was swiftly knocked back. The Senegal international had been highlighted as the prime winter target for Jose Mourinho at Old Trafford before he was sacked from the head coach role.

Speaking to reporters, De Laurentiis revealed that Mourinho was keen on recruiting the French-born centre-back at the turn of the year but the club rejected the advances without any concern. He added that the Naples outfit have no plans of offloading Koulibaly during the winter transfer window, although the club can’t continue rejecting ‘indecent offers’ for their leading performer in the future.